I really tried with this book but I had to stop about 35% of the way through. I couldn't take how ignorant the main character was. I totally get that she was supposed to be distanced from Indian culture because of how she was raised and I could understand that to a point. But in the 21st century, no one is that ignorant. No one. The main character was straight up dumb and I couldn't do it.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I didn’t enjoy the book as much as I thought I would, however I did enjoy a few things. Unfortunately I did not enjoy the romance between the two characters but did love seeing her Manny discover her culture more. I also loved seeing her journey of learning to love her culture and religion more than the romance. Another great thing about the main character was seeing her always stand up for herself regarding her cultural background.

While I did enjoy the story of Manny, I was not a fan of some of Sammys’s decisions such as his introduction in the story by itself wanting to temporarily break up with his girlfriend.

I also didnt like the premise of breaking up through email. I personally just would never do that so it didnt work well for me while reading the story, however it was an idea i haven’t seen before which was nice to read. I also didnt particularly like the characters falling in love so fast (in about a week?).

Overall, the story was a bit slow in the beginning, taking me a bit of time for me to really get into the story however it was a nice read afterwards.

This book is so cute!! I loved seeing Manny discovering a part of herself and falling in love in the process. I do wish there were less priankya chopra references but other than that I loved it.

I received a copy through netgalley.

This book was so sweet and fun—I couldn't put it down!

Manny is a successful CEO of her start-up, and is engaged to the man she loves. Then she receives her cover page feature of a major magazine, and her photo is majorly whitewashed. While Manny is Indian, she knows almost nothing about her heritage or culture. When she sees the cover photo, she realizes that she doesn't know her full self and starts on a journey to uncover her roots. She finds herself in a unique arrangement: she will attend an Indian wedding with Sammy, a persistently annoying client, if she helps him manage his break up with his girlfriend. Throughout the story, we watch Manny blossom into her truest self as she is fully welcomed into the Patel family and we watch her relationship with Sammy turn in to something more than either of them thought possible. There was a surprising twist near the end that I thought brought the story full circle.

This was the book I needed to get out of a reading slump and I would absolutely love to see more from Sonya Singh.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

<i>Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review</i>

This was a great title for the book, and fit it really well. The story centers around Manny and her quest to connect to her cultural roots and figure out what it means to be a "good Indian." Manny's parents died two years before in a car accident, and she still hasn't processed the bulk of her grief, throwing herself into work. She's successful, engaged, and has just gotten a cover spot on a popular magazine as the CEO of Breakup, an agency that helps people end relationships in the healthiest way possible.

But, when the cover comes out, she's been photoshopped to look whiter, and her mother's gold necklace, that she always wears, is gone. Turns out, the workaholic fiancé approved it. They fight, and that sets the stage for Manny's journey of self-discovery.

It's a fantastic premise. Manny's found family around the agency are wonderfully supportive and fun. The concept of a company called Breakup is hilarious. Each chapter opens with a letter to the company with all kinds of requests and situations, and I found those really fun and entertaining.

Manny is accompanying a client to his brother's week-long wedding so she can have an immersive experience in Indian culture and traditions. How she gets there is a little convoluted. As it happened in the beginning, I was able to sort of push aside that skepticism (most fake relationship tropes are a bit silly, which is part of their charm). But the story never connected for me.

Manny and Sammy didn't have any romantic chemistry. He was her instructor in all things Indian, explaining his family dynamics and his love for his culture. They shared a too-similar wound. He was in a terrible motorcycle accident, her parents died in a car accident. And Manny enjoyed all her Indian experiences, so they shared that. They were both successful business people. And that was about it.

The antagonists of the story, their respective partners aren't just bad fits or less-than-ideal, but turn out to be more and more unlikeable as the story progresses. <spoiler>Maybe that's in part because as Manny and Sammy fall in love (in one week?), they are still with other people. This technically makes them unfaithful when they share their first kiss. Neither of them says that they should end their other relationships. It's not until things get really egregious that the other relationships end. It's supposed to make us care less about the infidelity. </spoiler>

There are too many coincidences in the story for my taste. I don't think any novel can pull off one or two. The dialogue is very stilted and awkward, and characters use one another's names so excessively it became distracting. Real people don't do that. And some of the arguments were pretty nasty and, yet, are completely overlooked the next time Manny and the arguer are together again with quick apologies that are immediately accepted. That didn't ring true for me either.

I liked all the celebrations and the depth of culture, but I think I would have preferred fewer events with a more in-depth experience. However, for readers looking for as much culture as possible might really like that choice.

I spent a lot of the book not understanding choices and actions, which also lowered my enjoyment. However, I really loved the clothing, and Manny had a great dresser, Aliyan who brought a lot of great fun and energy to the novel.

There were a few gay characters in the novel, which is great for representation, but they were all pretty stereotypical, which was a disappointment.

This novel didn't work very well for me, but here's who I think might enjoy this novel:

People who like a slow burn, colorful characters, found family, close family ties, a journey of self.

This book is told through the lens of Manny Dogra, who is the CEO of Breakup, a successful business that helps with the relationship break up process. After she discovers that her image on the cover of a magazine has been white-washed, she starts to realize her disconnection to her south Asian roots. We’re then introduced to Sammy, who wants to use the services of Breakup to temporarily end things with his girlfriend, as he does not want to bring her to his brothers wedding. Manny decides to help Sammy by being his plus 1 to the wedding in exchange for him to help her on her journey to discover more of her roots.

I really loved seeing Mannys journey of learning more about the south Asian culture, the descriptions were well-detailed and beautiful. I also loved the found family aspects of this book and honestly would have loved more scenes of Manny with her friends. Additionally, each chapter starts off with a client email to Breakup, which I think is creative and witty.

However, the biggest downside of this book is the actual romance content. I did not sense any chemistry between Manny and Sammy at all, and the conflicts that occur throughout this book could have been easily avoided or resolved. The pacing of the storyline is a bit off as well, as the first quarter of the book was very slow, and then suddenly scenes seemed rather rushed, especially the ending.

Overall, I think Sari, Not Sari makes for a good womens fiction story, but lackluster as a romance. I gave it a 2/5 overall.

Thank you Simon & Schuster Canada and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster Canada for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was pretty excited to read this novel, after seeing the title and the models (the sari looks gorgeous!) on the cover. While this story has a ton of fun aspects, big Indian weddings, Bollywood dances, and mentions of yummy food, and references to Indian culture, I think those were the only aspects I enjoyed in this book. The actual romance was a let-down for me. I felt like Manny and Sammy barely interact or have any chemistry before they declare their feelings for each other. Their romance was honestly a whirlwind, in between Manny learning about her heritage and the wedding preparations, that I wish there were more slower, grounded moments between her and Sammy.

I also felt like this novel was heavily influenced by millennial culture, which was kind of a turn-off for me. Some of the pop culture references felt outdated (for example, the book talks about Priyanka Chopra and Lilly Singh in a positive light), not to mention how strange the dialogue felt at times? I was a little taken aback at the way that Manny ran her company. The employees (even the C-suite execs) seemed super disorganized and all over the place for a savvy, trendy company/start-up. There are also some typical stereotypes about Indian, and South Asian culture in general, dispersed throughout the novel that I cringed at as well.

Overall, I think that this book was pretty unforgettable for me. There are definitely better South Asian rom-coms out there and I’d recommend saving your time by reading those instead of this one.

Thank you @netgalley @simonandschuster and @sonyasinghwrites for this gifted eARC in exchange of my honest review.

Manny Dogra is the CEO of Breakup, a company who helps people handle ending their relationships. For the last couple of years, since her parents passing, she had focused solely on her company and her easy relationship with her fiancé. Until she receives the cover of the national magazine she’s featured on, and notices that the woman staring back at her has been photoshopped to appear more white. Her parents had never shared much about her Indian heritage, and upon seeing the cover, Manny feels completely lost. As fate would have it, Breakup receives an odd request from a client named Sammy Patel. Manny decides to make a deal with him, she’ll fulfill his breakup request if he takes her to his brother’s wedding and teaches her about being Indian.

This was such a cute and quick read. I loved following along as Manny discovered herself, her culture, and what she truly wanted for her future. This is one to grab when it releases April 2022!

This one gets 4⭐️‘s from me!

SARI, NOT SARI has an amazing premise: the CEO of a company that crafts the perfect breakup emails, despite being happily engaged herself. However, though Manny’s company, Breakup, encourages clients to be true to themselves and who they are, Manny realizes that she hasn’t ever embraced her Indian heritage. After going back and forth with Sammy, who has a strange request for a temporary breakup with his non-Indian girlfriend before his brother’s wedding, Manny agrees to partner with him: Sammy will help her learn more about their shared Indian heritage and Manny will help him in return.

The first 30ish% of the book was packed with detail and tangents into Manny’s thoughts and a bit slow. I wish the author would have given me, as the reader, more time spent with Sammy and Manny interacting. However, I loved the found family aspect and how much Manny grows as a person.

Sari not Sari did not disappoint but it did not blow my mind either. As someone who grew up watching Indian movies and tv shows I was so excited to read this book and follow the journey of the main character while she tried to connect with her culture and find out what it actually means to be a “real Indian”.

The heartwarming parts of this book were definitely those where Sammy finally realised that there is not only one way to be a part of a certain culture and that you can always come back to it.

In my opinion the book should have been a bit longer because the plot felt super rushed and I didn’t really find it realistic that everything happened in a span of only one week.
The romance suffered because of this too. I didn’t feel any connection between Sammy and Manny and the miscommunication was too much for me. It is what I hate the most in romance books. Arguments also happened and then were resolved too quickly. Some dialogue was also cringey but I can survive through that.

I get that this is a debut novel and because of that I was open minded and I did like this book in the end. I related to the family bits a lot which is a plus. In conclusion it was a sweet and quick read!

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC!

As a debut, this story has a lot of potential, but I had to dock a few stars for some issues with pacing and plot.

Pros:
I enjoyed the overall concept and mixing of some familiar tropes, while giving them a fresh spin- it was quite funny to read a story where the characters insist they are not dating, fake or otherwise, yet everyone thinks they are!
I really loved the characters in this book, both main and supporting. They all had such life and I enjoyed that Manny’s found family played such a huge role as well. This universe of characters is so fun that I would certainly love to see sequels exploring the lives of some of the Patels!
Finally, I loved how this book centers on Manny’s exploration of her identity and didn’t shy away from issues of racism and bias.

Cons:
The first part of the book was quite slow- a bit too much development. While I appreciate the author not immediately dismissing Manny’s current love interest, the build up of Adam just got dull.
And because the first part of the book moved so slowly, I felt jolted once the book picked up and some of the major plot twists felt far too rushed. Multiple instances of sudden conflict that seemingly resolved overnight with no intervention were too convenient. I’d have preferred a longer book that took the time to develop the latter half of the story and properly connect these plot points.
Finally, a bit too much reliance on miscommunication to deliver conflict. I always struggle with this trope, and here it at times felt manufactured to the point of incredulity. And it also made Manny and Sammy both feel inconsistent as characters.

Despite the cons, I did quite enjoy this book and will anticipate more from this author as she grows. The vivid characters and exploration of culture in this book were unique and so enjoyable!

Manny has been very successful in building her company, Breakup, which functions to break up with a client's partner. She has also been engaged to her boyfriend, but they are currently doing long-distance. One day, Sammy comes to Breakup for help: he needs to temporarily break up with his (white) girlfriend so he can attend his brother's wedding without his family knowing... Manny refuses. Quickly, circumstances change as Manny realizes she has not embraced her Indian identity as much as she would like and agrees to help Sammy if he teaches her the "Patel way." Together they embark to Sammy's brother's wedding where Manny goes on a journey of self-discovery, learning how to love herself, as well as Sammy.

I would say this book is more chick-lit instead of romance, as the main focus is on Manny's adventure learning about her culture. I really enjoyed her character development and the way she stood up for herself. While I felt the romance was lacking, I felt that this was an enjoyable book. I think it's very important how it showcases a character learning to come into her culture as an adult. As a white person, I felt honored to read into Manny's journey. I would have liked to see more of Manny and Sammy's relationship develop but understand why it was less prominent.

Highly recommend this book! This was my first book to read by this author and I can't wait to read more! The characters and the story stay with you long after you finish the book. One of the best books I have read in a long time.

My first arc review. So I guess I need to say that this was given to me by Simon & Schuster Canada and NetGalley. So this is my honest review.

Sari, not Sari is a debut book from Sonya Sigh and I was excited to read since I’m really enjoying this whole wave of new books by POC authors.

Sari, not Sari is the story of Manny Dogra a first generation Indian American. She is running a flourishing business that’s keeps growing, she’s engage to a very successful man and her life seems happy. Her business is actually an interesting concept. She breaks up with people. As in people hire her to help them end their relationship via email. This is how she meets Sammy Patel. Sammy needs to head to wedding in 2 days and wants Manny to temporarily break up with his non Indian girlfriend Lisa. I should also mention that Manny is not really all the happy. Her parents passed away a few years back and she’s just thrown herself into work and is now having an identity crisis. A few too many people have mentioned to her that she’s “not really Indian” and now Manny wants to find her Indian roots. So she somehow gets Sammy to agree to bring her to his family wedding.

So the good:
1. much like Manny, I enjoyed the Indian 101 lessons.
2. Manny has a good found family that may not be blood but supports her choices.
3. I love the whole work for me and we might fall in love set up!!

The bad:
1. Gahhh the first 3rd of this book is sloooooow. The couple don’t officially meet till I was at 30%! Too much set up..
2. I really don’t think it’s cool to break up with someone over email:
3. Family secrets!!! It wanted to roll my eyes at the last big secret revel..

Final words?
Good book, very nice debut. Hope she writes more and improves. I would love to read about the Patel cousins.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the ARC of Sari not Sari. I am sharing a review voluntarily.

I was intrigued by the premise of this book and I love reading author debuts so I was super excited to read this as an ARC.

The writing, dialogue and character development were solid. I was intrigued by Sammy and Manny as people almost instantly. The side and background characters were well developed too, though sometimes a little cheesy and their dialogue and impact felt a little hollow. At times it felt like a lot of inspirational platitudes.

I found the first quarter or so of the book to be dull and I had a hard time staying invested. I didn’t need all of the background about the inter workings of the company to understand where Manny’s energy and priorities were placed. The book really picks up when Manny connects with Sammy and then feeling invested was no longer a problem at all. I appreciated the storyline about Manny’s parents and how it was woven in. I also really liked the focus on Manny’s identity and finding her way, at times again it felt kind of superficial but I also think there’s power in being in a space of being accepted that can be altering.

My last issue with the flow of the book was the “conflict” around the arrangement. First with Manisha where she blows up at Manny and then resolves it on her own and it’s no longer an issue and then essentially the same pattern occurs with Sammy over the miscommunication around Lisa. It felt manufactured and the resolution was so transparent.

I still felt pretty captivated by the story and if there happens to be a sequel focused on Manisha, I will be all over it!

Sonya Singh... Girl you've got to write another brilliant romance! Please!
I freaking loved this new delightful contemporary romance novel.
Manny and Sammy... like they were the perfect match made.
The characters are all extremely well developed, their romance is adorable.
There is real depth to these characters that I couldn't get enough of.
They felt so real and had true depth.
The plot is so entertaining and it is so easy to get lost in the story.
Our characters are amazing and I laughed, smiled and totally got lost in the story.
Another thing was the Indian culture. I liked how the author added rid bits of information about the culture throughout. That was nice learning more.
The writing style is fun and quick, it was such an easy read to dip in and out and follow the love story of these.
I also thought that the love interests in this book were quite compelling and initially kept me glued to my Kindle.
Sari, Not Sari is a wonderful, amazing, true romance that stayed true throughout the book! I loved it. And I need more if it!

Simon & Schuster,
Thank you for this outstanding new novel!
I will post to my platforms closer to pub date!

So—here’s my honest review. The first 25% of this book was pretty painful. The author introduces the characters, the setting, and the conflict. Knowing from the premise that Manny, our main woman, will end up with someone else, it’s difficult to root for the OG boyfriend/fiancée. Even more difficult when everything the author writes about this guy is negative. This isn’t really a problem until the second half of the book where Manny is struggling to decide what she’s going to do moving forward. Because of the built up hatred for her fiancée, Adam, it’s incredibly difficult to feel how hard this decision is, and instead, I found myself starting to judge her for not ditching his ass even after she’s been gaslighted and manipulated by this dude. YIKES. Definitely had to change my mindset.

Here’s what I loved about the book. Manny sets off on a quest to learn more about herself, her family, and her customs. It’s honestly an amazing journey of growth and discovery that just leaves the reader feeling so happy and excited for her. I even felt like I finished the book knowing more about Indian culture than I did to begin with. The author does a great job of tackling difficult issues such as outdated customs, whitewashing, and family conflict. If not for the rough start, this would be a five star read for me. Regardless, would highly recommend!

Manny has it all, a multi million dollar company, a seemingly loving fiancé, and a beautiful home but after the loss of her parents she still feels as if she can’t connect to who she really is. Sammy needs Manny to help him orchestrate a temporary breakup from his girlfriend so he can attend his brothers big Indian wedding without causing a scene. Can Manny and Sammy help each other?

I enjoyed this book for the most part until the end. A beautiful story with wonderful descriptions of Indian celebrations that lost me completely by the rushed ending. Sammy and Manny deserved a more fleshed our conclusion. Also how many gay best friends does a girl need? Every character in this book that Manny connected with felt like a stereotype of a gay male. Great effort but I just feel like it fell flat in development

Sari, not Sari by Sonya Singh is a wonderful contemporary romance that made me smile, laugh, and kept me entertained from beginning to end.

This may look like it is just another romcom novel, but it is so much more. Manny Dogra may think she has it all figured out: a successful business, a current relationship, and an idea for a life forward…but deep down there are questions surrounding her heritage, her past, her parents, and her identity and culture.

It takes a major upset and a new client to help push Manny to ask questions that were always there and to seek answers to those questions that were always bubbling just below the surface. This book is about identity, family, a sense of belonging…continuity, finding one’s place in life, and finding a purpose. Manny finds that by finding out her past…she is able to find herself, her happiness, and her true future.

I enjoyed the way the author was able to balance romance, comedy, and lighter dialogue with some of the heavier concepts within the book. I liked Manny, flaws and all, and I liked her progression and being a part of her journey full of surprises and discoveries.

4/5 stars

Thank you NG and Simon & Schuster Canada for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 4/5/22.